Talk about Community here

[DarthYoshi]

In before Reckoner rapes

this thread

the Ducaine family.

FTFY.

My Top 5 Episodes:
Modern Warfare
Contemporary American Poultry
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
A Fistful of Paintballs
Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design

Honorable mention to Paradigms of Human Memory.

I *really* wanted to like Debate 109, as I debated in both high school and college, but...it was tough. It was painfully funny, but also, at times, painful.

<3 Alison Brie

This.

A little bit of Ken Jeong goes a long way.

I agree, but that doesn't make him less funny, it just means he has to stay a supporting character. He's a little like Creed from The Office--he's at his best when he's limited to 3-4 utterly insane one-liners. That's still funny.

I really hope they bring back Eliza Coupe's guest character as that Secret Service agent who had a thing for Abed. That was hilarious. And I love Eliza Coupe...she was, like, the only good thing about Scrubs towards the end of that series.

[DarthYoshi]

Just finished rewatching season 1 of community. The thing that sucks is Community isn't available in its entirety on hulu plus like Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, and The Office are.

Anyway, I thought season 2 wasn't as consistently awesome as Season 1, but it was still really funny. And both the D&D and Finale Part 1 episodes were as good as it gets.

Maybe my next mini-theme should be Community Themed. I've never done an actual theme theme game, but it'd be fun and I can think of some good mechanics I could use with it.

EDIT: I see DarthYoshi has claimed the Community idea, so I'll sit on that.

Flavor-wise, my Community game (shameless plug--it'll begin signups in about three weeks /end shameless plug) will revolve around their yearly paintball assassin game. If you had another idea(s) for the mechanics/flavor, I'd say go for it--I'd probably love to play in it myself.

Reck--same for you, man. I had no idea when I put the setup in the queue that you were working on a Community game, and I still feel kinda bad 'bout that. I imagine I'd really want to play in a Community game you created and ran as well.

[DarthYoshi]

^ Pretty much what Reck said. I love Goodman's character, I hope we see more of him. His character was a great consolation for not having John Oliver in the episode (which I was really hoping for after how Ian Duncan and Jeff began to connect last season). I likewise share the concern that the episode seemed to contain an awful lot of gallows humor.

Honestly, I think turning Chang into a security guard might have saved that character for me. I was basically over him by the end of Season 2, but this puts his character back into a position of authority over the study group, which is where I enjoyed his character more to begin with (ie, during Season 1).

Does anyone think the opening dream sequence set up a Jeff-Annie romance for Season 3, or it is just to screw with us?

Also, wasn't Abed adamant in the Season 1 finale that he and Troy should never move in together?

[DarthYoshi]

Then what changed? I can't remember that anything did. (Sidebar: this is exactly what I disliked about Glee last season--characters abruptly changing on things they used to have strong opinions about with seemingly no explanation or reason. I really hope Community isn't going down that road.)

[DarthYoshi]

CRISIS ALERT!!!

[DarthYoshi]

D:

I'm still watching it, I just don't know where this season is going.

It's going straight through you from nostril to rectum, now until the end of time.

That's

what's up

where this season is going.

[DarthYoshi]

Anyway, I totally agree that the whole "gang nearly disintegrates" thing has gotten old. They got a waiver to do it a few more times than they otherwise would have by doing self-referential stuff, but now that they've done that it makes it even WORSE when they do it again.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Chang does as the head of security. It's about time he gets back to a position of power that he can abuse. He was always funniest as the crazy-and-a-little-sad Spanish teacher with an attitude rather than a complete sad sack.

This. A thousand times this. I actually loved the Chang B-plot in this episode for two reasons--first, I agree that Chang is at his funniest when he has power that he can abuse. I liked him WAY more in Season One than in Season Two. Second, it was a nice change of pace for what I typically think of as Ken Jeong-type humor. When Jeong is totally over-the-top, like bashing in Jeff's Lexus with a keytar, or bringing his own equipment to paintball, then I totally agree with reck that a little bit of him goes a long way. But this wasn't the case--it was like a slow descent into Chang's madness as opposed to being hit over the head with it, and I actually really liked it.

I also disliked the group's A-plot because the whole "group realizes they're dysfunctional and nearly disintegrates" plot was already done different ways in season two, and I'm tired of it. Honestly, it was the Chang subplot that saved this episode for me.

That said, zoraster, I shall not abide by your heresy about the chicken fingers episode. That is one of the best episodes the show has ever done.

I also agree that the show could be using Jim Rash more. I'm not sure if there has been an appearance by him that has failed to make me laugh.

And, what the heck happened to John Goodman? He was far and away the best part about the premiere and we haven't seen him since.

[DarthYoshi]

I worry that Jim Rash will become like Kramer or somebody if they use him a lot.

Is John Goodman really part of the cast or did he just make a guest appearance?

They don't have to use Jim Rash a TON, just use him more than they currently are. The show was, and is, about the group first and foremost. But throwing Rash an extra scene or two would, on balance, make episodes funnier, I think.

I can't remember where I read it, but I remember Dan Harmon saying that Goodman was signed as a recurring character for the season.

[DarthYoshi]

Yeah, this was a solid episode, as evinced by the fact that the episode had no Chang and no Dean Pelton and I didn't miss either of them. (me not missing the Dean is a little surprising, since I think he's far and away the funniest supporting character the show has produced. Ian Duncan runs a close second, though, and I am worried that we haven't seen any John Oliver this season. Did he leave the show?)

My favorite gag is actually a very subtle one--I loved Shirley's apron. Totally fits her character. (Edit: And I guess if you know what I do for a living, you'd get why I thought it was hilarious.)

[DarthYoshi]

I want to see more of the evil study group.

Also, this. But more because I want to see if an "evil" study group would create a "good" Pierce, since Pierce is kinda the group's villain.

[DarthYoshi]

also, in the two scenes where jeff eats pizza he eats it by picking the toppings off. which is weird.

It's weird, but I think it is fairly in character for Jeff. I seem to recall an episode or two in previous seasons where he is extremely particular about what he eats.

[DarthYoshi]

I liked the Halloween episode, but it felt a little too much like Chaos Theory for me with the alternate stories for each character, just like the alternate timelines, and I feel like Chaos Theory did it better. I liked it fine but probably would have liked it more if those two episodes hadn't aired back-to-back.

The Shirley-is-Super-Christian jokes in this one were just kind of hokey, though.

And I actually really liked Annie's story because I feel like it was totally fitting with her character--this naive sort of ingenue girl with a big ol' case of wacky under the surface (ie, her DnD character sex scene narration with Abed in that season 2 episode).

[DarthYoshi]

Other episodes this season--especially Chaos Theory--were more innovative and brilliant from a creative standpoint, but out of all the season 3 episodes, this is the one that has made me laugh the hardest, and a lot of those laughs came from John Goodman's lines. The initiation sequence was far and away the best scene of the episode. The astronaut making paninis was priceless.

The A plot was decent, but I wonder if the homophobia issue will come up again in the season, not for Pierce, but for Shirley. Which annoys me, because I'm pretty tired of Christians being portrayed as homophobic when almost every scrap of polling data shows that this mentality is changing. I realize this episode finds humor in a lot of stereotypes, but this was one that fell flat for me.

I will continue to lament the absence of John Oliver until we are given either an adequate explanation for Ian Duncan's hiatus, or a suitably hilarious scene involving a drunken Duncan getting his ass whupped by Vice Dean Laybourne.

I was also surprised by Jeff's fairly powerful righteousness streak in this episode. He was pretty willing to go to bat against the prejudices of Pierce and Pierce's dad in a way that was uncharacteristically passionate for him, and in a way that isn't entirely explained, I think, by whatever oedipal issues Britta thinks he has.

Pedit: how is Chang unbearable? He had, like, three lines the entire episode.

[DarthYoshi]

^Like I said, it's changing. And it has changed in 2011 from 2010. And it is changing most rapidly in people in my generation. Evangelical millennials now support same-sex marriage at almost a 50% rate. Among mainline millennials, that number is probably even higher.

Not trying to turn this thread into a soapbox. Just saying that the way Shirley gets portrayed gets under my skin sometimes. That is all.

[DarthYoshi]

Is Shirley a millennial?

You can make the argument that she is. Some commentators include people born in the late '70s as 'millennials,' which would put Shirley in her early/mid-30's today. For a divorced housewife with two young kids, that's fairly reasonable.

(FWIW, Yvette Nicole Brown is, I think, in her late-30's, but at the same time, Alison Brie is 27 and is playing, basically, a 19 or 20-year-old.)

[DarthYoshi]

I liked the episode, but I would have preferred the Pierce storyline better had his father not come in and ruined it. I don't really care about what's going on with Britta right now, I'm still annoyed that Annie gets so much attention all of a sudden, and I don't get why everyone hates Chang so much (even after his detective this season which may have been too much Chang for even me). I love love love the Troy storyline and I'm glad to see they picked that up again. I want to see where that goes.

While I agree with you and Amrun that the Troy storyline was the best part of the episode, I personally thought Pierce's dad was both hilarious and one of the most effective appearances of what will almost certainly be a one-shot guest appearance character. It brought out a side of Pierce we've never really seen before--the more scared, deferential side that he feels towards nobody else. It actually made Pierce a much better character for me overall because it moved him past the "old racist sad sack grandpa" stereotype that he was playing into for much of season two.

[DarthYoshi]

And mostly Jeff ruined it. He was really fucking stupid this episode.

I know. Typical Welsh nonsense.

[DarthYoshi]

http://www.avclub.com/articles/studies- ... ent,64756/

At least I'm not the only person who is quickly getting tired of Shirley being reduced to the stereotype of a holier-than-thou, close-minded Christian dope in the last few episodes. This should not be lumped in with any of the earlier portrayals of her religion--I thought her character's arc in the season 2 episode where Abed plays Jesus was one of the best plots this show has ever done. But...yeah. This time it is getting old, fast.

Other than that, this was a pretty good episode. This season has been using music to great comedic effect this season (see also: the opening sequence to the season premiere, Chang playing the tenor saxophone, etc.), and Jeff + the Dean in the music video was no exception to that. I LOVED the scene in the Mexican restaurant.

I also actually thought the Pierce subplot was ok, if only because it meant they got to re-use that ridiculous hairpiece from the Halloween episode.

[DarthYoshi]

I'm not entirely sure, but I'd say it's safe to call those final sketches Non-Canon.

The Chaos Theory episode proves this hypothesis true.

[DarthYoshi]

I'm not entirely sure, but I'd say it's safe to call those final sketches Non-Canon.

The Chaos Theory episode proves this hypothesis true.

I refuse to agree with you on that until the end of this season.

Take your time. I'll be right here. I'll be the guy with the giant sign that says, "I TOLD YOU SO."

@Oman: Well played. Touche.

[DarthYoshi]

Now I need a friend to point me to some British variation of Community that only lasted six episodes...communitytown abbey.

Mondays are the worst.

[DarthYoshi]

also they did something with shirley
yessssssss

THIS. SO THIS.

One of the few serious complaints I had about S3 before the break was that I felt like they had forgotten how to write for Shirley--that she had become a caricature of herself with all of the jabs they were taking at her Christianity (compare that to, say, S1's Christmas episode, or S2's Abed-as-Jesus episode, both of which make fun of Shirley, but in a way that actually gives her depth and meaning as a person). But it turns out they do still know how to write for her.

I also really missed Chang in this episode, if only because I feel like after the "Is Shirley's baby his?" plot from S2 could have created a lot of comedic potential for Chang in the A-plot.

Super glad to hear the news about Community being syndicated.

[DarthYoshi]

In addition, I felt Annie's outburst about Kim being a dude out of character as well. That made zero sense to me.

I actually thought it made perfect sense--it was blatantly obvious that "Kim" is a proxy for Annie in this plot--when Annie is defending Kim, Annie is really thinking about herself, her lingering feelings for Jeff, and how Jeff moved on from her between S1 and S2. So, when Kim turns out to be a dude, Annie isn't left with that leg to stand on and lashes out.

Entirely unrelated: MOAR VICE DEAN LAYBOURNE PLEEZE.

[DarthYoshi]

It would suck to lose Chevy, but it wouldn't be a body blow to the show. Pierce is a pretty stereotypical character--old guy who says outrageously offensive things--and as such isn't among the show's more innovative creations (it would hurt A LOT more if, say, Danny Pudi left the show), and characters like Chang can pick up the slack in the saying-outrageously-offensive-things department.

[DarthYoshi]

Hulu's "A Day in the Life" installment on Joel McHale offers a sneak peek at some details of one of the closing scenes of the season finale.

It is a courtroom scene, set in a classroom, with Dean Pelton dressed up as a traditional British judge, powdered wig and all. Rob Corddry's character is present and is sitting at the opposite counsel's table as Joel.

[DarthYoshi]

I thought this was one of the weaker episodes I terms of the overall arc, but with hilarious side gags. Dean as a train conductor, the end credits, "left unattended I will do him like a crossword" were all really funny. But the show itself was a big ball of "eh... Next episode please?"

This is exactly, 100%, how I also felt about the episode.

[DarthYoshi]

I agree with glowball. I think it seemed weaker than it was, though, because it came directly after the Ken Burns pillow fort episode which was fantastic.

^good point. I will say that I remember feeling the same way about this season's Halloween episode in part because it came right after the chaos theory episode.

[DarthYoshi]

It was like if you took Community, Inception, and a dash of General Hospital and threw it all into a blender.

That be a strong drink there.

But I liked it.

[DarthYoshi]

was it just me or did the tag completely reverse all of abed's char development

I'm pretty sure the tags are non-canon.

[DarthYoshi]

Yeah, this episode fucking nailed it. Loved the last minute courtroom plot twist.

[DarthYoshi]

I also just noticed that Troy's tie is a Spiderman tie. Just the absurdity of that made my day.

[DarthYoshi]

I don't get why they put the

Starburns thing

in. Seemed like it was just put in. If it had been

Pierce dying then I could understand as Chevy might not want to shoot that so they just kill him off-screen like they did with Sheen in Two and a Half Men but Starburns? Confused.

I'm pretty sure that

Dino Stamatopolous, the guy who plays Star Burns, had wanted to stop playing him, so they killed him off at his request.

[DarthYoshi]

Yeah, Garrett's rendition of Ave Maria was definitely the highlight of the episode, but Troy's "Your Majesty" line to the school board made me laugh almost as hard.

I also wish the show would just put Troy and Britta together already. The escalating sappiness between the two of them is sickening.

Is anyone else wondering if the riot at Starburn's wake was a commentary on the Occupy Wall Street movement? (I'm thinking specifically of the UC-Davis pepper spraying incident. Tell me if I'm overthinking this.)

[DarthYoshi]

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/entertai ... recreation

Community (along with 30 Rock and P&R) is getting an abbreviated 13-episode season four before being axed by NBC at midseason next year.

My heart is smushed like a boiled yam right now.

[DarthYoshi]

Yeah, except it doesn't make any sense from a business standpoint to do a 13-episode half-season...this gives Community 82 total episodes (I think), and most networks that buy syndication rights to show re-runs will buy when the show hits 88 episodes. I feel like it would have made more sense for NBC to order a full fourth season (or I guess 19 episodes instead of 13) and call it a day after that if the ratings didn't improve. Then again, NBC can't seem to do anything right these days.

[DarthYoshi]

except community already has a syndication deal i think.

But only with Comedy Central, I think. Other networks may be less interested in showing it without the 88-episode threshold.

[DarthYoshi]

I want an entire episode about Garrett the Precog.

[DarthYoshi]

I swear this was the first time I heard "the back nine" referred to in any context other than golf.

And I don't even golf.

[DarthYoshi]

not as good as paradigms

In terms of sheer laughs, sure, but I actually think the premise behind this one was better (which is to say, it actually had a premise. All paradigms did was vaguely hint at the group breaking up, even though that's schmuck's bait). Which isn't to say I disliked paradigms--I loved it--but this is a little bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison. Paradigms was all about how many funny memories they could concoct. This episode actually advanced the plot.